


A Wild World

by Natep1098



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Child Neglect, Danger, F/M, Intrigue, Mild Gore, Original Character Death(s), Pokemon Battle, Pokemon Fanfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-09 09:06:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8885062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natep1098/pseuds/Natep1098
Summary: A "Re-telling" of Pokemon Emerald from Brendan (Victor) Point of View. The main characters Victor & May are 18 and there may be some chemistry between them. This is based off a Random Nuzlocke but with Victor being 18, more understanding of the world may come in, more mature situations... more cussing. After all, ANYONE can die.





	1. One Small Step

A/N: Of course I don't own a thing, if I did, I'd live on the moon.

A Wild World 

Chapter 1 – One Small Step

Vick took another drag of his cigarette as the truck hit another bump. He sighed in anger, but enjoyed the fact that he didn't have to ash. Let the moving company deal with his butts in a corner and think it was an employee. “Fuckin' Hoenn. I don't know why WE have to move out to a small hell hole while Dad gets to enjoy town life.” He said to himself. To be honest with himself, he was really angry at the whole SITTING IN THE MOVING TRUCK ITSELF WITH THE BOXES... but he understood in a way.  
The world they lived in was dangerous. Wild creatures lived just outside of every major and minor town and city. These creatures would think of nothing to kill anyone who happened to step near their territory. Especially the 'cute' ones. The only protection were acorns that were mystically turned into technology to capture and train these creatures. And then people decided to fight and kill each other's creatures for fun and glory. It was one of the few ways to actually make a living, Vick sighed again, smoking his last cigarette.  
He had had to give up his job at the convenience store back in Johto, and had no idea what he'd do in Littleroot. There was absolutely nothing here besides Professor Birch's Lab. The truck slowed down. Vick threw his cigarette into the corner, and stood up. Well, time to make lemonade.  
The door opened and he hopped out, glad to get his legs on dry land. His mom burst out of the house, “Victor, we're here, honey!” she said, stating the obvious, “It must be tiring riding with our things in the moving truck.” Victor almost slapped her for that, but settled for looking sullen.   
There was an awkward silence as his mother looked sad at his expression, but continued. “Well... This is Littleroot town. How do you like it? This is our new home! It has a quaint feel, but it seems an easy place to live, don't you think? And, you get your own room, Victor! Let's go inside.”  
That was classic Mom. Talking and asking with no room for response. Then again, that was his Dad too. He was dragged inside, and faced with vicious creatures tamed for moving boxes around. Giant Vigaroth with sharp claws moving fragile items. Brilliant. “See, Victor? Isn't it nice in here, too?” His mom went on oblivious, “The mover's Pokemon do all the work of moving us in and cleaning up after. This is so convenient!”  
Victor sighed, and his mom picked up his thoughts, “Victor, your room is upstairs. Go check it out, dear! Dad bought you a new clock to mark our move here. Don't forget to set it!” Victor trudged towards the stairs, eager to spend time away from his mom, staying away from the vicious creatures moving heavy boxes. His room was small, but comfortable. A bed, his computer at the desk with his diary. His Gamecube was already hooked up to the tv. Instead of dealing with his clock, he tossed himself into his bed and fell asleep.  
He woke up feeling like shit. Mouth like an ashtray, headache the size of a Rhydon. He pushed himself out of the bed and landed feet up. He checked his computer, 9:30 am. Damn. He begrudgingly changed the clock. He worked his way to the rest room, fixed himself up and headed downstairs. His mom was watching TV. “Victor! Victor!” she cried, “Quick! Come Quickly!” Victor sighed, he'd have to. “Look! It's Petalburg Gym! Maybe dad will be on!” Victor peered at the TV where a news person was closing the report. “We must've just missed him!” His mom sighed. “Oh... yes, you should go meet the Professor and his family who live in town! Professor Birch. I remember dad said something about you needing to meet him too.”   
Victor wanted to at least check out the sticks. There was literally 2 houses and the Pokemon lab. Some trainers were around but that was it. God this place was the worst. Why couldn't they live in Petalburg again? He knocked on the house next door. A woman, probably Mrs. Birch, answered. “Oh, hello. And you are?” “Victor. We just moved in.” “Hi! We have a daughter about the same age as you. Our daughter was excited about making a new friend. She's upstairs, I think. Come in to meet her!”  
Victor sighed and walked upstairs. An empty room greeted him. Well awesome. A pokeball was on the floor, near the bed. Who left their stuff out like that? Victor reached out to it to put it on the desk when suddenly a young woman came into the room.   
She stormed toward him, anger in her eyes. She looked amazing. “Who are you?” She demanded. “I'm Victor, we just moved in. I was just about to help you clean up... Sorry about that.” He responded. “Oh... So you're Victor..” She said, looking him up and down. Victor was a bit perturbed, but enjoyed the gaze. “I'm May. Nice to meet you.” She said finally, and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you too.” Victor said with a grin. She took her pokeball back and tossed it around clearly thinking about something. “Our world is pretty weird you know.”   
Victor raised his eyebrow, “Oh?” “I want to become friends with Pokemon.” She said timidly. Victor gestured for her to continue. “I'm tired of being afraid.” She said, “I want to become strong enough so all Pokemon can be my friends... everyone's friends.” Victor smiled, a noble goal, changing the world. Unlikely but possible. “I'd be open to trying to achieve that.” He responded. Her smile lit up the room, damn was she good looking when she smiled. “Oh! Right! I was supposed to go help my dad catch wild pokemon!” She said suddenly and guided Victor out the room and house.   
She waved cheerfully and headed up north towards the dangerous grass pathway, her visage becoming more and more determined as she approached. Victor headed the other way, toward the Professor's lab. It was a bit messy, there were boxes and books everywhere. One scientist was there, running around trying to clean and file and work. “Professor Birch?” Victor asked. The scientist shook his head, “He's on field work!” He shouted. Victor sighed and left. Now What. His hand twitched as he stopped himself from pulling out a cigarette. Fuck. This shit hole didn't even have a convenience mart.   
He trudged back towards his house... Not much else to do today but wait for the goddamn professor. As he was walking, he heard a yell. “HELP! HELP!”  
He rushed towards the cry without realizing it. He was heading towards the grass pathway. Why were none of the trainers running? Fuck. He rushed past a small girl who was trembling in fear. “Help me!” a man's voice screamed. He was being chased by a pokemon, likely near death. “Hello!” he yelled as he ran about, “Please help! There's some pokemon in my bag!” Victor rushed to the bag and picked up the pokemon closest to him on the furthest right. He threw the pokeball at the pokemon and a Growlithe popped out.   
It was a Clefairy. “Fuck. Let's hope you don't know Metronome.” Victor swore. The Growlithe lept into action and tore into the Clefairy with it's teeth. Blood flew savagely as the creature attacked, Victor winced but knew it was kill or be killed. The Clefairy made a fist and hit as hard as it could. “Get 'em boy.” Victor said as the Growlithe nodded and attacked again, killing the cute monstrosity. Victor sighed and pressed the button on the Pokeball, the Growlithe returned. Both he and the professor sighed then walked quickly back into town.   
“Whew...” The professor sighed again loudly, “I was in the tall grass studying wild pokemon. One of them jumped me. If I had been prepared , I would have been fine.” “You've got to be careful, you're a Pokemon Professor for Christsakes. You should know better.” Victor admonished, he didn't really care what the professor thought of him. Poor introductions led to poor relationships. Though then again, he didn't care what a lot of people thought. The professor had the decency to look down. Then brightened, “You're Victor, right?”  
“Yeah.. What of it?” The professor laughed, “Come with me!” He said. They ended up in the lab, and sat down admist the mess. “So, I've heard a lot about you from your father.” The professor said, “You have never had a pokemon... but you pulled that battle off with ease!” Victor nearly scoffed, the growlithe did most of the work. The professor looked at him seriously, “Really. Most first-timers seize up and end up hurt themselves. You haven't a scratch on you and your pokemon was barely hurt as well. You have the makings of a great trainer.” Victor raised an eyebrow. “As thanks for rescuing me, I'd like to give you the Pokemon you saved me with!”  
Victor stared at the ball in his hand. It felt.. heavier somehow. “A Growlithe... That's pretty funny. Maybe I should call it Lighter.” The professor stared at him. “Promise me you'll take this a bit seriously... in fact, you should go see my daughter May. She'll give you some tips. She should be north of Oldale, route 103.” Victor stared back at him. “Are... you seriously asking me to go by foot?” he asked. “You walked onto the path without a pokemon. You'll make it with Lighter.” Victor rubbed his forehead as if to get rid of a headache. “Give it a try. You'll be surprised.”  
Victor left before the madness could continue. He headed to his room, and carefully released the Growlithe. The proud dog growled a bit, true to it's name. Victor kept his hand on the pokeball. “Lighter.” He said experimentally. The dog sniffed and walked over to him and looked up expectantly. Victor's hand trembled as it approached the pokemon. This creature had just torn apart another... but he had to try to make friends... otherwise he'd have an uncontrollable monster that'd likely kill him too. His hand approached the creatures chin. It raised it's muzzle and his hand touched a warm patch of fur.  
The dog closed it's eyes and enjoyed the touch. Victor was able to pet it more and more. “Your name is Lighter, ok?” Victor said as the creature enjoyed the rub down and showed him where to pet. After some time, the two were on good terms. Victor sighed and stood up, “We should get going.” He told Lighter, “Lots to do. Apparently.” Lighter nodded and stretched out and stood up as well, wagging it's tail. “We're going to face some danger soon.” Victor said seriously. “Think you can handle it?” Lighter barked and growled at an invisible enemy then yipped friendly at Victor. “You can probably handle anything... Like I can.”  
He put Lighter back in his pokeball, no one tried to keep pokemon out for too long. The professor had given him a belt with six spaces for pokeballs on it. He attached the ball to one, it was good to keep your protection close. The road north was bidding him welcome. He attached a stern look to his face and kept his hands ready. Things were about to change.


	2. Oldale

Chapter 2: Oldale

Victor stared at the tall grass before him. He'd been standing there for god knows how long. A kid near him was gallivanting around taunting him. Obviously he had strong pokemon. Fine, he could do this. He took a step. Nothing. Another. Nothing. Soon he was out of the first patch. He was a bit confused... A nearby trainer just looked at him smiling. “First patch, eh? They only get harder. Keep an eye open. Luckily this route is under sanction, no trainer battles allowed. We may step in if need be though. Keeps new trainers safer. Good luck!”  
Victor thanked the trainer and continued north towards Oldale. Suddenly, a noise erupted near him and Victor turned around. There was an incredibly large creature near him. A Snorlax. These things were power houses. He hoped to god Lighter would be up to snuff. He threw the ball. “Lighter! Get 'em!” Lighter took of like a shot and tore into the Snorlax. It was hurt viciously and flinched. Lighter took the opportunity to take another taste of Snorlax. Blood poured out of the snorlax, it tried to slam into Lighter but barely hurt him. Victor laughed as the Snorlax desperately ate some berries it was carrying “Finish 'em off Lighter!” He said gleefully. Lighter leapt into action and killed the pokemon. Victor felt bad, but, it was him or them. Plus, Lighter would become all the more powerful. Maybe learn some fire moves.  
Somehow, he made it to Oldale in one piece. Time to head to the hospital. He sighed and relaxed in uncomfortable chairs as the nurses soothed Lighter to full health. It was relatively quick though and he cheered up at the sign of a convenience mart. Rushing in, he bought some potions for Lighter and cigarettes for himself. He lit up as soon as he was outside and headed north again, glancing around at the small town. A couple trainers, some people actually lived here and a scientist examining something to the west. Small time. More grass awaited him and this time he walked right in.   
This time, he was on the look out and the Doduo that found him did not surprise him. Lighter was ready to go as well and as soon as he was out of the pokeball lept into action. The brutality of the bite led to blood from the bird and a flinch. At a nod from Victor, Lighter took advantage and killed the bird victoriously. Victor felt odd as he called back his pokemon. Was he just lucky? He felt ill at ease as he continued north. No more pokemon attacked as he reached the edge of the route.   
May was there, writing something down. “Hey.” Victor said, “How's it going?” “Fine.” She replied as she finished a thought and put a strange device away as well as her notepad. “Looks like you made it through 2 routes. Any thoughts?” “I feel weird, Lighter does a lot of the leg work and has barely been hurt. I have barely been in danger.” May lighted up, “This is good!” Victor raised an eyebrow and May continued. “You could be a good trainer for this idea I have. I want you to stop 'Lighter' from making a kill shot, keep it non-lethal. You want to try?”  
Victor thought about it, then nodded. “We'll return if need be, right?” May smiled and nodded. “Let's try and explain this to our pokemon before we battle.” She sent out a Weepinbell she called 'Bella' and took it aside. Victor sent out Lighter and took him aside to. “Alright, we're trying something new Lighter.” Lighter looked at him questioningly. “Do not kill May's Pokemon. DO NOT.” Victor said sternly. He had no idea if this would work, but May was trusting him.  
After a bit, they faced each other down and Lighter leapt in. It didn't hurt Bella as much as it had hurt other pokemon, and Bella thwacked down with vines, a much easier attack to make non-lethal. Victor sent Lighter to bite again and it managed to bite Bella carefully, clearly showing dominance but not killing. May cheered as she called Bella back. “That was amazing! I can't believe it worked so well” Victor smiled and praised Lighter as he ran back to him. “I've got to head to the hospital.” May said, “make sure Bella stays ok. I'll meet you at the south exit of Oldale.” Victor nodded as he rubbed Lighter's head. May leapt of a nearby hill to quickly head down to Oldale.   
Victor watched May leave, “Alright buddy, I need you to keep strong. That was a great show, but we need to be careful.” he told Lighter. “We'll be back in the thick of it, that was something incredibly new. It's unlikely to happen except with May right?” Lighter barked and growled against an invisible foe. “Alright, excellent. Let's head back to meet May.” Victor pressed the button to return Lighter to it's pokeball and headed to the town via the hills. May was waiting for him.  
She smiled at him and the two walked down the path, leaping over the cliffs to make life easier and avoid any wild pokemon. They reached the lab with ease, and entered. Professor Birch was there, waiting for them. “Hey Victor! May! Looks like you two had a good meeting!” The two nodded, and the professor continued, “I've been mentoring May for a while but I think it's time she went out on her own.” May lit up at this, “I think the two of you will do wonders on each others growth as trainers.”  
Victor smiled, could be fun to match against May every once in a while. The professor smiled, “Yes, I think this will go very well. Right, let me give you a pokedex! The Pokedex is a high-tech tool that automatically makes a record of any pokemon you meet or catch.” May came over to him and compared her device to his, it was fairly similar and she shared some of her notes with him too. “I should also give you some of these! The stores will only let you buy them if you've bought them before or you have some on you, weirdly enough. The first thing you should do at every store is buy at least 1, just in case.” Victor nodded and put the balls away, “While catching lots of pokemon is a good thing, maybe keep yourself to one a route, for safety and to train yours up.” May continued.  
Victor nodded again and the professor and May told him a few more tips before he felt ready. May grinned at the end of the talk, “I'll give you a head start. See you around.” She winked at him and Victor smiled and left. As he left the lab, he headed north to the path but him mom was waiting for him. 'Greaaat. Here we go.' “Wait, Victor!” His mom headed over to him, “Victor! Victor! Did you introduce yourself to Professor Birch?” She locked in on the belt and pokedex, “Oh! You have a Pokemon! You got it from the professor, right? How Nice! Oh! I found these running shoes! You need to wear them!”  
Victor put on the shoes and his mom wished him well then thankfully went inside. Victor sighed and headed back to the path. Maybe he could catch something serious. A snorlax appeared and Victor smiled, his Lighter could take care of this. Lighter tore into Snorlax several times, and the Snorlax fought hard. Too hard. Lighter had to kill the thing to make it stop, there was no opportunity to catch the monster.  
Victor decided to not look back, he went north again to check out what he could catch while still remaining careful. It was good he was being careful, as he came across a kangaskhan. Victor prepared to fight and hopefully capture the creature. Two quick bites brought it close to death and Victor threw a pokeball. Time passed slowly, but at last, the creature was caught! Victor fist pumped and recalled Lighter. He decided to call the Kangaskhan something fun, but first his pokedex beeped and cataloged the creatures details. He released the Kangaskhan, it looked at him wearily. He approached it carefully.   
“Hey... Kangaskhan, I want to be friends.” Victor said carefully, “I'll take good care of you. You won't have to worry about other trainers or anything. We'll get you stronger, better. And if you don't want to fight, you can just say so.” The Kangaskhan looked at its fists, then patted near it's stomach. A baby's head poked out and Victor was slightly shocked and perturbed. It raised it's fists though and gave a roar. It walked over to him and stuck out it's hand to shake Victor's. Weird, pokemon weren't known to act like humans. Victor shook the creatures hand, “Roo sound good to you?” The Kangaskhan nodded.

A/N: I had to figure out SOME way to keep May's pokemon returning, though I could have kept the option to have her pokemon change. It will effect the plot though so I think I made the right decision.


	3. A Gymnast's Son

Victor hit the return button an headed on over to the hospital. Roo was healed, then he headed to route 102. A dip in the grass led to a wild Nidorina. Victor sent out Roo, to get their battle partnership better. The Kangaskhan had some decent abilities, but was poisoned easily. A quick trip back to town helped him out. Victor headed back to the route and noticed a trainer ahead. He sighed, time for some real battle. He approached him.   
“Hey, if you have a pokemon, then you're a trainer. And if you're a trainer, we're going to battle! Get ready punk!” The trainer sent out a Xatu, a large psychic bird. Trainers weren't playing around. Victor sent out his Kangaskhan but changed his mind immediately to send out Lighter. Lighter showed off his brand new fire move before going for the patented chomp to destroy the Xatu. Victor couldn't blame him, Lighter's name was about fire. Victor praised Lighter, and returned him. The trainer forked over some cash as well, due to the international rules. Victor thanked him, somewhat apologetically, it would suck to lose your pokemon, you could easily get trapped in between grass.  
Victor healed up again and headed out to face the next threat. Another trainer awaited him. “I'll take you on!” The trainer had two pokemon. An Alakazam faced him, great, more psychics. Lighter would be better fit, but Roo was released first. Victor cursed, he needed to rearrange his pokebelt. After switching out pokemon, the Alakazam used a harsh psychic attack. Lighter became confused and hurt itself. “Come on Lighter!!!” Another round passed of confusion and Victor sprayed some potion on the wounds. “I need you to focus!”   
Lighter shook it's head and growled, ready to attack for real. Several attacks missed, but finally, Lighter took some serious bites out of the creature. Another Alakazam headed out and Lighter made quick work of it with one bite. “Oh thank god...” Victor sighed, “Sorry, but I'd prefer me over you. The trainer looked crestfallen, and Victor thanked him and headed back to the town. It was pretty silly, but necessary. The grass was ahead of him, maybe more trainers too.   
Victor checked his pokemon stats, Roo was weaker than Lighter and needed some more training. Victor headed North, and a trainer was heading south, they met outside of the grass. “Did you just become a trainer? We're both beginners! Let's Fight!” Victor sighed, rookies were always so excited when they were on a roll. He'd never make that mistake. The trainer sent out a Ponyta and Victor smiled, finally, an end to psychic nonsense for now. Roo attacked with great force and put it down well.   
A Scyther was next. But it easily was defeated by Roo. Victor continued on through the rest of the route with relative ease.   
Petalburg. Fuck. His dad was here. Victor didn't want to, but he was obliged. He walked in the Gym. “WELL! If it isn't Victor! So, you're all finished moving in? I'm surprised that you managed to get here by yourself.” His dad... “OH! I see, you're with your pokemon. Hm... Then I guess you are going to become a trainer like me then! That's great news! I'll be looking forward to it!”  
Suddenly, another trainer entered the gym. He headed straight to Victor's Father. “U...Ummm... I... I'd like to get a Pokemon, please...” His Dad brightened, “Oh Right! You're Wally, right?” Wally responded, less shy. “I'm going to go stay with my relatives in Verdanturf Town. I thought I would be lonely by myself, so I wanted to take a pokemon along. But I've never caught a pokemon before. I don't know how...” His dad turned to him, oh fuck. “Victor, you heard that, right? Go with Wally and make sure that he safely catches a pokemon. I'll lend Wally a Pokemon, make sure they come back safely regardless.”   
Victor sighed, roped into another responsibility by his father. At least the tool was making some decent money now though. Wally dragged Victor out of the gym and straight into the grass. Victor readied his pokemon, just in case. This fool would get him killed. A Lapras lept out, and Wally sent out the Azurill that he had been lent. They barely fought when Wally threw a pokeball at the slightly injured Lapras. To Victor's surprise, the pokemon was caught.  
What. The. Fuck.  
Nobody was that good. Not even the legendary “Red” who Victor still maintained was a myth even though his name, picture and pokemon were registered in the pokedex. No champion had ever been truly publicly revealed, and the results were just a whole bunch of trainers struggling through the ranks, dying, or retiring. Gym leaders, he supposed were the only lucky ones. They had not only access to their own team, but their disciples as well. Also, they could pretty much go wherever they wanted to without fear of too many attacks by either pokemon or trainer. Victor shook his head as they re-entered his father's gym. Wally would be a trainer to look out for, depending on what path he choose.  
“So, did it work out?” his dad asked obnoxiously, couldn't he read people? “Thank you, yes, it did.” Wally responded. “Here's your Pokemon back.” Wally then turned to Victor, “Thank you or coming along with me. You two are why I was able to catch my Pokemon.” Victor just nodded back, “OH!” Wally exclaimed, “My mom is waiting for me, I've got to get going!” With that, Wally left, leaving Victor alone with his father once more.  
“Now....” Victor rolled his eyes as he turned back to his father. “Victor, if you want to become a strong trainer, here's my advice. Head for Rustboro City, challenge the Gym Leader there. After you beat her, head to the other gyms and defeat their leaders. Yes, including me. You will learn a lot, and while I have my own reasons for wanting you to do this, I believe you will find yours as well.” Victor sighed... it wasn't like he had anything better to do right now. After all, there were very few paths for a pokemon trainer legitimately and he had no other marketable skills.  
Looks like he had a damned quest in front of him.


	4. Treachery in the Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Read the tags before reading this chapter.  
> Shit's about to get real.

Chapter 4: Treachery in the Forest

 

As soon as Victor left the gym, heading for Rustboro, a man came running up to him. “Ah hah! You just exited the gym! You must... be.... oh... Hmmmmm.” The man looked him up and down. “Yeah, never mind, you are pretty clean cut to be an experienced trainer. Also, you hold yourself entirely too new. I'm looking for talent kid, and you don't have it. Thanks for wasting my time.” Without letting Victor have a word in edgewise, he left. He hated people who thought they knew everything. Victor grumbled and finally continued east. There were two paths near him, a beach nearby and some grass.   
On the beach he saw a lot of trainers, wondering around and near him he saw some grass. Victor readied both Roo and a pokeball. He needed more strength to take care of all these trainers. As he stepped into the grass, there was a Wartortle who approached them. Victor sent out Roo, Lighter would be of no use here. Roo was too strong, and the Wartortle was felled to her strength. “Well then... One pokemon per path for now... I guess we're too good for this area.” Victor let the path and decided to try the trainers.  
The first girl on the beach denied she was a trainer, and had no pokebelt anyway. He supposed Petalburg was a decent enough place to settle down. He literally ran into a boy running around the sand and hoped that Roo and Lighter would take care of this. Roo made quick work of the Rapidash, but... Victor had sent out Lighter against the kids Camerupt, thinking fire vs fire would be ok... Then the Camerupt used Magnitude. An earthquake like effect hit Lighter... And killed him. Victor screamed wildly, the boy just grimaced but the Camerupt stayed out. There was no running now, Victor needed revenge. Roo pummeled the Camerupt viciously, sensing it's owners turmoil.   
The kid was out of pokemon, they were dead, his journey was over. Victor had only Roo now... He screamed but returned his pokemon. He ran up to the kid, “WHY DO WE DO THIS?!” He yelled at the kid. The kid just cried. He didn't know. Damn, Victor hated this world, this life. Victor took the 'celebratory money' for the win, then headed for the hospital. They offered burials as well. Lighter would be given a respectful send off, at the least.  
Victor had known that this journey would be dangerous... But he had begun to be friendly with his own pokemon. Lighter had bloody DIED. SENSELESSLY. Fucking LIGHTER. Victor paused on the precipice of the two paths. He couldn't very well avoid grass, or trainers. He had to continue on... Roo would have to beat down the fights ahead of them. There was a forest ahead of them, maybe one pokemon in there would be a good partner. But first... Victor needed to take his anger out on somebody.  
Two fishermen were on the beach, one was just a normal guy, the other though... His Stantler went easily down to the combined rage. All he could say to the defeat was... “What?!” It had happened so fast to him, now he would have to brave the seas like his friend. Victor pushed forward, there was a woman near the forests entrance. He was breathing heavily, his emotions nearly calmed. “We must have been fated to meet, may I ask you for a battle?” Victor's eyes narrowed, he didn't care for her tone right now.  
Her Ponyta nearly went down in one hit, and she fearfully tossed a Full Restore at it, maybe hoping to defeat his rage. That gave Roo another opportunity though... And it's fearsome punches downed the horse. “Oh... My...” She started crying. Victor breathed again... his rage spent and determination set in. While the anger had been helpful... killing other trainers Pokemon mercilessly was not. He relaxed himself before entering the Petalburg woods, he needed another Pokemon and to be careful he had only one encounter to get it.  
Inside the grass was a Jynx, hopefully with no Psychic powers currently. Roos punches were too good, so Victor ordered him to bite at it. The first pokeball after failed, dammit come on! The Jynx made some harsh snow hit his pokemon, to little effect. 4 pokeballs left.... Assured of Roos, power, he ordered it to glare at the Jynx to lower it's defenses. Hoping that would work. One pokeball left and Roo felt like it's glares weren't helping anymore... crap. Victor threw the pokeball... hoping... please.... please.... YES! The ball clicked and Jynx was caught. The pokedex bleeped. Weird entry. Victor wondered what to name the thing... He'd head to the hospital as he thought about it.  
Victor remembered an interesting fairy tale about an Ice Maiden... he hoped not too many other people would have a Jynx named Elsa. As he paused at the mart after buying a healthy amount of items and some more damn cigarettes because his rage had triggered his chain-smoking without realizing it. He smoked as he watched the beach. God... what a day. He began laughing though, as he realized his fire pokemon had been replaced by an ice pokemon. Ironic? Maybe. He just took another long drag of his cigarette. Back to the forest.  
He threw the butt on the ground, maybe Rustboro would treat him better. The first trainer he came across had 4 pokemon. The first was an Alakazam. This would be harder than he thought. Elsa did ok, but the Alakazam had some special powers even though it was fairly weak. Roo made quick work of the glass cannon. In fact, Roo made quick work of the other Alakazam's the kid had. Victor continued on, hoping that Elsa would come into her own soon.   
He ran away from the wild pokemon appearing, they seemed too strong for Elsa and he wanted her to catch up to Roo. As he headed north, he found a strange man talking to himself. He spotted Victor and headed for him. “Hello! Have you seen any Shroomish around here? I really love that Pokemon.” Victor shook his head, “I don't even know what pokemon are around here, this world is too unpredictable.” The man took the words in... “Hmmm... an App that tracks were trainers meet pokemon... Not a bad idea.”  
Suddenly, a pirate came to them. “I was going to ambush you, but you had to dawdle in these woods. You're crazier than I am old man! I got sick of waiting, so here I am! You're from Devon Corp right? Hand over your research!” The man ran behind Victor, Victor glanced at him... he... had... no... POKEMON BELT?!?! What was this guy doing in the forest?! “You, you're a pokemon trainer right? Please help me!” Victor nodded, as crazy as the man was, he needed to help the defenseless man.  
“No one messes with Team Aqua!” The pirate announced and the battle began.   
The pirate's Xatu was no match for Roo. Such a powerhouse. Elsa seemed to gain some power by watching the battle. The Pirate stomped off, “Fine, we have business in Rustboro anyway!” “Amazing!” The man exclaimed, “I should give you this for your help!” He handed Victor a Great Ball. “... Hang on... Didn't that Team Aqua thug say they were after something in Rustboro? I've got to move!” The man ran off without Victor saying anything. Wow... weird. Sadly he had to start his trek through the forest again, after healing his pokemon up again. The next trainer had two Lairons... It was a tough battle but Roo was able to handle it with some Bite work. The exit to the forest lead to more trainers in his way... so he had to make the trek a THIRD time... If only he could fly or something...  
The first people he ran into gave him a TM, and some berries and a water pail. Interesting, the rest looked like they were itching for a fight though. It was route 104 though... maybe a new friend could help. The first pokemon he ran into was fucking huge, and on fire. A Typhlosion. He sent out Roo after trading out Jynx, Roo took out the pokemon thankfully. Victor decided to continue down the road, hopefully he could take care of the trainers with just two pokemon to his name.  
A rich kid's ponyta went down easily. A lass had two tough pokemon, her cloyster especially was tough to take care of but Roo was able to handle the difficulty. He walked up the bridge and a pair of twins challenged him. They threw two pokeballs so Victor followed suit. Weird, but hopefully handle-able. A Cloyster and a … another Camerupt. Dammit. Victor's eyes narrowed. He'd have to take that out first. Roo took it out with no help from Elsa. Nice. The Cloyster kept using Protect to stop them from hurting it. Annoying. Finally they took it out and Victor saw the town was ahead with no impediments.  
He decided to head back to the path after his visit to the hospital, there might be some more tough trainers to train against. Another fisherman attacked him with some Stantlers, Roo made quick work of them. Victor headed back to Rustboro after the last bit of exploration. Time to take a break.


	5. Rustboro School of Hard Knocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Again, read the tags.  
> This game can go fast then slow then fast again. Makes writing it interesting.

Chapter 5:   
Rustboro School of Hard Knocks

Victor wondered around the new town. Some people were pretty helpful, others were not. He wished the small girl some help in her sickness. Another odd man gave him an HM called Cut. Only useful if he could beat the Rustboro gym leader. She was apparently a previous student of the pokemon school. He visited the school. There was that dick with sunglasses.  
Victor walked up to him “Hey asshole, remember me?” He said, not caring about the kids around. “Oh... ummm... Hi. I'm Scott. I've traveled everywhere to look for outstanding trainers. More specifically, I'm looking for experts. I'm pretty good myself, but I like to talk to the better trainers too. I have my purposes... Anyway, what brings you to the school? Are you a trainer?” Victor nodded. “Excellent! I'll keep my eyes out for you.” Victor grumbled and continued checking out the school.   
A Pokemon school. Most of the learning here could not beat real-world experience since the students did not battle here. The teacher at least gave him a Quick Claw, an item that the pokedex told him could be held by a pokemon to make it faster at striking. He gave it to Roo, it'd be pretty helpful to ensure a first strike. Up at the north end of the town, the Devon corporation was here as well as the gym. Victor passed it by to check the paths up north and east. Up north was just some water and cliffs, he couldn't get too far. East was grass and trainers... Might be a good idea to go that way BEFORE the gym. Victor was worried about the gym, it was his first of course. Plus maybe he could catch something.   
A weird Trashbag faced him, a Makuhita he thought. It was caught fairly easily. Great, he thought, I'm the proud owner of a trashbag. Trash went to the front of his belt, maybe he could become useful in his own fashion. Trash actually gained a lot of experience watching three trainers go down easily to Roo's strength, even Elsa pulled her own weight. Victor felt bad about leaving some of them in the grass, but he had to get back to heal his pokemon. The police or the rangers could assist these fools.   
Continuing East, he stepped into another double battle. A Ralts and an Eevee were facing Trash and Elsa. Maybe they could pull it off. Elsa froze the Eevee, and Victor laughed. Being frozen was terrible. It was almost impossible to break without an item. Trash grinned as it thrust it's arms at the Eevee, a fighting move that burst threw the ice and destroyed the Eevee. One of the trainers was done, but the other sent out a Cloyster. Trash's arm thrusts took quick work of the Cloyster. Incredible. There was only one more trainer he could reach and a cave, he decided to try them both.   
The trainer went down to Roo. Inside the cave, a Politoed danced around and faced them, it seemed weak, but then again Trash was really holding his weight. Especially with weakening the pokemon but not killing it, a great ball caught it after it sang a creepy elegy. Splishy would be the new pokemon that needed help gaining strength, but not now. The Gym was next, since the cave was closed up. Victor stood outside and wondered if he should train up a pokemon or send out Roo to sweeep the gym.   
He walked inside, Roo in the lead just in case. The man in front told him that the leader's name was Roxanne but could not tell him much else. The first trainer sent out a Ralts, Roo would easily take care of this... maybe he could try to take care of the other trainers. Elsa and Trash went up against the next two trainers, another double battle. Two Ralts this time. Elsa's powder snow was effective though. Amazing how Elsa could destroy these things so easily with her snow. He put her up front in front of Roxanne. Time to get some fucking answers.  
“Hello! I'm Roxanne, the Rustboro gym leader! What's your name?” “Victor. I'm Norman's kid.” “Nice to meet you! I am a recent gym leader so I don't know too much about the others, but I appreciate their strength.” Victor smiled, “It shall be fun battling with you, I'm new too.” Roxanne nodded, “Let's do this!”  
She sent out a Gardevoir, Ralts' evolution. Elsa's snow was not too effective, and the lick seemed to paralyze them both. The Gardevoir sent out a shadow ball and Elsa was in trouble. Roo might be a better fit. The shadow ball did not effect Roo, and a few punches took care of the Gardevoir. Roxanne sent out another Gardevoir and Roo took care of it with some healing needed. A Gyrados came out though and Roo had to be taken away so that Trash could take care of the dragon. Trash was beaten so quickly though... Dammit... he had hoped that he could get closer to Trash. Splishy was a calculated sacrifice to let Roo heal.   
Another potion saved them, as the dragon kept hurting himself. Down to two pokemon again... but Roxanne was out. By rights, he could take over the gym. But he didn't want to. Roxanne didn't know why his father wanted him to defeat these gyms, why Scott cared about strong trainers, or even what the pirates where up to. “I refuse to become a gym leader.” “I understand. The pokemon league rules state that trainers are given this if they defeat a gym leader.” Victor accepted the badge and money, as well as a special TM  
“Since you are exploring, your pokemon will let you use Cut outside of battle. The Tm is a rock move, Rock Tomb. If you decide to travel more, you should battle more gym leaders and trainers. You'll likely find what you're looking for!” Victor nodded and left the building, Roxanne would figure out how to rebuild her gym. As he left, the pirate from before ran out of Devon followed by the Devon company man. “Come back!” He yelled, “That's important research!” He ran after the man. Victor caught up with him after taking care of his losses. Two more pokemon down. He had not gotten as close to them on purpose after Lighter... but still... Fuck. The researcher was waiting at the edge of town, this time being cautious. “Hey! It's you! Please help me get the research!” Victor sighed, at least all the trainers were taken care of. Before he entered the path though, he set Cut to Roo, just in case.  
At the entrance to the cave, he found an older man who stopped him. “That team aqua thug stole my pokemon! Please help me!” Victor sighed and nodded, he was already in the mission, but a stolen pokemon... he'd have to be careful. The pirate was there, “Hey, step back! I'm warning you!” He took a step back and Victor read that he could challenge him. His Xatu fell easily to Elsa's snow. The man sighed. “Fine, we'll give up our plans here, we always have others! If you want the research back, take it!”   
The man threw the case at Victor and ran away, leaving the pokemon behind. The older man came in, “Excellent! You saved my pokemon! I'm Mr. Briney! I run a Ferry around my part of the world. Who are you?” “My name is Victor, glad I could save your Pokemon.” “Well Victor, if you ever need anything, I'm right next to Petalburg!” Mr. Briney smiled jovely and walked off. Victor smiled, at the very least, he had done some good. As he exited the cave... “Hang on a tick.” He said out loud, shocked. “How did that pirate thug get restocked with a pokemon so fast?!”


	6. On the Open Seas

Victor took to the North path, having to Cut through some bushes, he had seen heard there were some trainers hanging out in the small maze. The trainers had some interesting pokemon, but two double battles later and things were fine. Victor found the researcher easily as well, “Oh! You're back! And you got the research back as well! Excellent! You are amazing! Thank you!” The man beamed and Victor nodded, “You're welcome.”

“Oh... I know! Come with me, my boss will love you!” The man dragged him into the building to the top floor. “Oh... before you meet my boss, can I get you to deliver the research to Slateport? There's a gym along the way in Dewford... Plus who knows if those Team Aqua grunts will be there...” Victor nodded, “It's probably on my way too as well.” “Thanks! Wait here for a second, I'm going to talk to my boss to introduce you, he's very particular.”

He came back quickly, “Come with me.” Victor followed the man to the boss of Devon Corporation. “Hello Victor, my name is Mr. Stone. I really appreciate what you've done for us... in fact, if you could do a bit more it'd be helpful! Can you stop off in Dewford town on your way to the gym there? I have a letter for a man named Steven. How about I sweeten the deal...” Mr. Stone rummaged around in his desk... “Ah Hah! A Pokenav! This is the latest tech in Pokemon adventure gear! It's got a map on it and other apps! In fact... on your way around the world, look out for Team Magma and Team Aqua... They've been doing some weird stuff.” Victor nodded, maybe this was another step in his journey to get some answers. “Well then, go with caution and care!”

After he left, a scientist approached him “I needed to tell you, I updated the Pokenav and well... our president needs to be a bit more mindful. Here, hand me your nav real quick... There we go! Give him a call!” Victor checked the Nav, it was really cool actually. He pulled up the calling app, and called up the president. “Hey Victor! Looks like you've got a handle on the Pokenav! Awesome! Good to hear from you! I think you'll enjoy the Nav. Talk to you soon!” Victor hung up and the scientist smiled, “Awesome! It works quite well!” The scientist cheered and headed back into the building.

Victor sighed and headed south, back to Petalburg... As he headed south, he noticed a familiar face. May. He smiled as he walked up to her. “Oh Hey Victor!” “Hey May!” Her sulty lips formed a smile. “I've been having a long day, want to get some coffee?” She nodded, “That sounds really good!” They found a nearby place to relax, ordered their drinks and sat down. Victor told him about his losses and how tough the gym leader was. May nodded, “The professor wants me to go for the badges too, any recommendations against the leader?”

Victor shrugged, “She could very well have changed her pokemon, but there were a ton of Ralts, Gardevoirs and she managed to have a Gyrados when I faced her.” “Wow, I'm impressed. You managed to remain a trainer when facing all that?” Victor nodded. “Yeah, I'm down to two pokemon again, I just have Roo and Elsa. A Kanghaskan and a Jynx, Respectively.” “Hmmm... OH, you have a Pokenav now, right?” Victor nodded. “Let me give you my number!” She grinned. She helped him put her information into his Nav. She then looked pensive...

“Hey Victor... I don't know why our parents are tasking us with the gyms, but I know you'll figure it out. I want to figure it out too, and get to my goal. You remember what it was?” “Yeah, battling without killing. I think my pokemon could handle that. Think yours can?” “Yeah, and we'll ensure we maintain control as before.” Victor nodded, it would be nice to ensure pokemons safety. “Let's do this!”

  
They moved to an open space of town and faced each other appropriately. Some people gathered around and Victor smiled, they'd give them something new to talk about. May sent out a Lombre, an interesting match up for Elsa. She managed to take care of it without killing it, and Victor sent in Roo to take care of her Weepinbell. Roo carefully punched the Weepinbell to unconsciousness. “Amazing! I really need to train up my pokemon to take care of Roxanne.” Victor nodded, “Catch some more pokemon too, that should help.” She shyly looked at him and kissed him on the cheek. The audience they gathered cheered a bit and the two blushed.

  
“Amazing, that boy kept her pokemon alive!” they heard one person say, “I didn't know that was even possible!” another person said. “Someone should let that Scott guy know if he's still around.” The audience continued to chatter as Victor led May away from the crowd. “A bit more than expected, but I think we'll be good.” May shyly smiled again. Victor grinned, “That was fun.” He went in for a hug, and she reciprocated. “Umm... I'll see you soon!” She gave him another cheek kiss and walked quickly to the hospital.

  
The trip back to Petalburg was quick and easy. Victor smiling all the way. Mr. Briney was were he thought he'd be, in the shack on the beach. He was busy playing with his pokemon. Victor approached him. “Oh, hey Victor! It's good to see you!” “Hello sir, Could you take me on your ship? We're headed to Dewford and Slateport.” “Not a problem! These old bones could use a nice trip on the sea!” They left the building and the man set up the ferry. “Let's set sail!” He proclaimed loudly and the boat set out.

  
The sea was so lovely, lots of trainers were out and about but the boat ignored them. As they sailed, Victors Nav rang. He picked it up, “Oh Hey, Victor, is that you?” “Yeah?” “It's your dad! Where are you now?” “I'm on my way to Dewford.” “Amazing! You already beat Roxanne then?” “Yes.” “Well done! Keep at it and take care!” “Thanks Dad...” The Nav hung up. Victor sighed, the sights were not as exciting now that his dad had reminded him about the task ahead. At least he could add the number to ensure that he could ignore him if need be.

  
They ended up on the island quick enough. Mr. Briney informed him about what was on the island. A cave and a gym as well as some people. Oddly enough, a guy gave him a scarf just by talking to him. Another guy gave him his old fishing rod. Weirdly enough, there were a whole group of people talking about “Skilled Class”. Weirdos. Victor decided to try to see what he could fish up. He could almost guarantee there would not be a water pokemon on the end of his rod. On his first try, he fished up a Cacnea. God his life.

  
His Elsa was too good against the pokemon. Victor sighed and headed for the cave. On his way, some fishermen challenged him. The first's Jynx was no match, the other one had three pokemon. They were no match to his two pokemon, and both could get some great strength. The cave however held a trainer who gave him another HM to get through the cave. He'd need to beat the next gym leader though. The mountain man mentioned a guy named Steven... Victor felt like that was the Steven he was looking for.

  
He'd have to take care of the gym, but first, he looked for a pokemon. A meditite was easily caught. But the only thing else on this island was the gym. Great. Victor sighed, he didn't even know if he wanted to name this doomed pokemon... Yoga worked, since it's pose was fairly relaxing. Victor put it on the front lines... and entered the dark room. The man up front told him only the name, Brawly. So helpful. At the very least, defeating other trainers in here would put on some lights. Victor followed the maze rules of following the wall and ran into one trainer. The Azurill went down easily. But at least Yoga gained some experience.  
The next two trainers faced him together with an Azurill and a Hypno. Yoga was retrieved quickly, and Roo and Elsa took care of the strong pokemon. Another trainer faced him down with another Azurill. Victor felt almost like he was being put into a false sense of security as Roo took it down. Interestingly enough, one of the trainers had a Combusken but it too went down to Roo.

  
The trainers told him he was ready for Brawly, he supposed Roo would have to go on the front lines... A Hypno was first. He was beating it down, but then Brawly healed it and retrieved it. Sending out a Blaziken. A good Punching combo hurt it bad. And another took it down. “You got this Roo!” Victor cheered as Brawly sent out the Hypno again. Double teams and Counters were no match for the Biting doom of Roo. Roo needed to be healed as Brawly sent out his last pokemon.

  
An Azumarill. Great. “Come on Roo!!!” Victor cheered as he rushed to heal her with a potion. The Azumarill scared him with it's own punch, but it wasn't strong enough. Roo single-handedly took down the gym. Amazing. “Whoa, wow! You were amazing!” Victor sighed, this gym had gone much better. “Take the badge I was entrusted with!” Victor thanked him as he was handed the badge. “I don't want to be the leader here, but I want some answers.” “Oh?” “My name is Victor, I'm the son of Norman. He sent me to defeat the gym leaders.”

  
Brawly nodded, “I can't tell you too much about his reasons yet, but I have heard Steven is nearby. Go talk to him, he'll give you a lead. Keep an eye on the land and sea.” Victor raised an eyebrow. “Let me give you this TM to help you out, and here's my number. Just in case.” Victor took down the number and left the gym to heal. The dark cave was next, someone would need Flash. He supposed Yoga could handle that task. Elsa was brought to the forefront as they wandered around the cave. All the wild pokemon were just nuisances, Victor barreled through the cave to find Steven.

  
At the end of the path was the man himself. “My name is Steven. What's yours?” He said simply, he had a self-assured air to himself. “My name is Victor.” “Nice to meet you, I travel in search of rare stones. I found a couple of these, take one.” He handed Victor an Everstone, “In terms of stones, these are the least helpful to those seeking power. But I think they have a power of their own.” Victor nodded as Steven explained that they somehow focused energy to stop evolution. “Oh. I forgot. I have this letter for you.”

  
Victor handed over the letter. “Okay, thank you... Hmmm... Looks like Devon was under attack. So they've started. If you went through all this trouble to get this letter to me, you must be a strong trainer too.” Victor readied himself, seeing this, Steven laughed. “No no, none of that! At least... Not yet. Let me give you this TM to help you grow. It has a flying move called Steel Wing. Incredibly useful.” Victor thanked him, “Hmmm...” Steven gave him a look, “Keep training, you could make it to be the champion. Let me register you in the Pokenav.” Steven took his number, then headed out.

  
While no closer to any answers, it was definitely confirmed that something was going on.


End file.
